


Grim Reaper

by Sage105



Category: Hunger Games - Fandom
Genre: Action, District 9 - Freeform, District2, F/M, Fanfiction, Hunger Games, M/M, Not all capitalites are jerks, Romance, science-fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-07-24 22:33:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16184528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sage105/pseuds/Sage105
Summary: Thera Millet never really considered herself the violent type. Sure she was good with a  scythe, but so was 99% of the population living in District nine; However, the hunger games are not known for being merciful, and the only way to get back home is to survive. Will Thera make it back to her Amber waves of grain  alive, or will deaths scythe claim another innocent soul?





	1. Reaping the reaper

Feeling more than a little uneasy, Thera Millet closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of freshly Cut grain. On any other day the aroma wafting in from over the southern fields would've had a soothing effect on her, but reaping day was far from ordinary.Her cousin ,Sorghum, had turned 12 only yesterday, yet he was still eligible.

"Please don't let him be the One who gets picked!" Thera thought to her self, rearranging her ill fitting blouse and skirt with Hans that shook slightly. 

Right on cue, the front door of her family's run down little house creaked open on rusty hinges to reveal The object of her Ruminations. Sorghum's golden curls were actually pulled back in a ponytail for once, and he was dressed in his threadbare best.

"well you look nice!" Thera complemented, giving the younger boy a wicked smile as he yanked anxiously on his collar. "You're going to have a hard time keeping all the ladies away today!"

"No thank you!" sorghum exclaimed vehemently, Face scrunching up in a display of obvious discussed. "I think I'd rather harvest wheat with my teeth than date any of those maniacs from my year!"

Catching site of her opportunity,Therapounced like a Lionesse, bending down to whisper into her cousins ear.

"So Damien doesn't count?" 

Instantly Sorghum's tan face turned a brilliant shade of pink, and his mouth fell open in shock.

" we... we are just friends!" He stammered, Blue eyes practically the size of saucers, "So don't get any ideas Barley brains!"

Thera couldn't help but roll her eyes At the flustered insult, remembering with fondness The site of the two youngsters surreptitiously holding hands under the dinner table.

there bumbling, youthful antics were beyond adorable, and her troubled heart delighted in the distraction. She was only seconds away from springing such Knowledge on her very mortified little cousin, when her mother ,Rye,appeared in the doorway.

"The harvest waits for no one kiddies!" She chirped, adjusting Sorghum's collar with one hand, and Thera's hair with the other. "Let's get a move on!"

It seemed to Thera that only seconds had passed when she found herself standing in the main Square of district 9, watching Sorghum enter the 12-year-old section for the first time. As she had expected, he quickly located the auburn haired apple of his eye, and began speaking in hushed tones.

"That's my boy!" She murmured to her self, reluctantly tearing her eyes away in order to hurry off into her own age group. "May the odds be ever in your favor!"

She of course paid no mind to the capitals long-winded spiel about The history of the games, choosing instead to contemplate what needed to be done for the next days harvest. She only tuned back in upon seeing the frankly ridiculous escort of district 9, Lucius Augustine, reaching into the boys glass ball.  

"please not Sorghum!... please not Sorghum!... please not Sorghum!" She chanted, Voice frantic and screaming with in the confines of her own mind. "Please not my Ray of sunshine!" 

Seconds seem to pass by in slow motion, as The green haired man  delicately plucked up a slip of paper, unfolded it, and called out in his obnoxious, reedy voice.

"Donovan Wintermil!"

Instantly a sigh of relief tumbled from Thera's lips, only to morph into a gasp of horror upon The realization that she recognized that name. Sure enough a tall, auburn haired youth was moving shakily forward from within the 17-year-old section, already pale face White as a sheet. Briefly his light blue eyes searched the crowd in vain for his  younger brother, before he turned and swiftly mounted the stage.

"Oh Damien!" she thought, wishing it were actually possible to see the 12-year-olds without turning around. "I'm so sorry!"

"and now for the ladies!" Lucius exclaimed with far too much enthusiasm, as he obtained a second slip of paper from the other ball and opened it.

"Thera Millet!"

Before she could fully process The shock of hearing her own name upon the capitalite's lips, Thera found herself striding forward on shaky legs.

"I am a scythe!" She thought frantically, remembering her mothers words spoken seven years ago to the day. "I am strength, I am power, I must not show weakness by bending to the whims of the wheat!"

unfortunately for Thera, The toe of her overly large sandal caught on The final step of the stage, sending her flying forward with a surprised gasp. Undoubtably she would've taken a nosedive in front of the entire nation, if not for the pair of strong hands that  caught her mid tumble.

"Take it easy there lovely!" Lucius exclaimed, amethyst eyes flashing, as he steered her over toward Donovan.  "There's no need to be nervous now!"

"So much for a good first impression!" Thera thought ruefully, flinching as Lucius called out directly beside her ear.

"Let's hear it for the tributes of district 9!"


	2. The not so incredible journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which district 9’s mentor is an ass, and a certain escort Is proven to be not quite as dumb as he looks .

Unbidden Thera's hands clinched themselves into fists under the table, as she glared fiercely at the ridiculous amount of food spread out before her. Donovan was busy stuffing his face like there was no tomorrow, which considering their circumstances was a rather reasonable course of action. Their mentor, a severe looking woman by the name of Adele Stone, was glancing back-and-forth between them with a calculating look on her face.

"I would eat if I were you girl!" She snapped, jabbing a finger at Thera's empty plate. "After all you'll be dead in less than a week!"

"Oh Will I now?" Thera snapped, anger at the entire situation finally boiling over.  "I for one still think there's a chance! It might be small but..."

"Small!" Adele interrupted, slamming her fist down onto the table hard enough to make the entire thing shake. "More like minuscule... if anyone from district 9 is going to win it's going to be mr. red head over there!"

Without preamble she jabbed a finger in Donovan's direction, before taking a sip of her wine. 

He's a factory head's son, Meaning he's stronger, healthier, and better prepared for the rigors of the arena then the Half starved daughter of some District whore"

Without conscious thought Thera jumped to her feet, before snatching up her plate and flinging it at the older Woman. Rivaling the speed of a swarm of tracker Jacker'sAdele Dove from her chair, allowing The dish to shatter harmlessly against the opposite wall of the train car.

"Don't you dare talk about my mother like that!" Thera hissed, fingers locking around the nearest Sharp utensil, which just so happen to be a steak knife. "You don't know one thing about her, and you damn sure don't know what it's like to not know where your next meal is coming from you rabid Factory-rat!"

Cursing Thera sent the knife careening into the back of Adele's vacant chair, syncing the blade up to the hilt where the woman's neck would've been.

For a brief moment no one moved, then Thera simply turned on her heel and walked with measured footsteps from the dining car. 

This façade of composure however, only lasted long enough for her to make it into the relative sanctuary of her private compartment. 

"What was I thinking!" She chastised her self silently, stripping out of her hated reaping outfit and venturing into the bathroom. "A factory-rat she may be, but ending up on her good side was probably the only chance I had of ever seeing my family again!"

In spite of her best efforts, Thera Felt her eyes fill with tears , and silently she began to cry. Horrified by The implications of this, she frantically jumped into the shower. Vaguely she remembered standing inside a similar contraption with her mother, giggling like small children do at the feel of the warm water pouring down on her. 

"Dammit all!" she whispered, trying in vain to banish thoughts of home. "I can't afford this... not here!... Not now!"

Luckily for Thera, the drawers upon drawers of clothing in the dressing room provided a welcome distraction. There was everything from dresses that sparkled like the midnight sky, to more subdued garments in styles that she recognized. Eventually Thera decided on a pair of black pants, boots, and a deep purple tunic comprised of a fabric that shimmered faintly in the light, and felt almost liquid under The questing touch of her fingertips.

Once properly clothed however,  The true magnitude of her situation had Thera biting her lip bloody in order to keep a second wave of tears at bay.

"I don't know what to do!" she whispered, dropping head into her hands. "How the hell am I ever going to survive this!"

Suddenly a Sharp knock resounded throughout the room, startling Thera into action. Quickly she jumped to her feet and through open the door, more than a little surprised by who was standing on the other side.

"Is this a bad time?" Lucius Augustine questioned, Head tilting sideways in mild curiosity. "Or may I come in?"

Stormy expression never changing, Thera stepped back and allowed The district 9 escort to enter the room, before swiftly closing the door once more.

"What do you want?" she asked stiffly,  raising an eyebrow at the covered tray held in Lucius's gloved hands. "Because if you're trying to guilt trip me into an apology... i'm going to go ahead and tell you it's not going to work!"

Much to her annoyance, Lucius simply laughed and  place the tray down on the nightstand..

"Love I'm here to do no such thing!" He proclaimed, seating himself gracefully on the bed.  "I simply thought you might be a bit peckish since you didn't manage to eat anything earlier... Now come and sit before it gets cold!"

Despite his reassurance, Thera didn't so much as move an inch. In truth she was very hungry, yet she just couldn't bring herself to trust The green haired Capitalite with his sparkly pink suit, Gerrish make up, and a smile that looked far too White to be composed of his natural teeth.

"Just what is this flower brained maniac up to?" She wondered silently, expression shifting into what Sorghum liked to call her leave me alone or die Face. "Most sane people are not kind for no reason... Then again I wonder if anyone from the capital can be called sane in the slightest?"

Upon realizing that she had no intention of doing as he asked, The Capitolite jumped to his feet and flounced over.

" come now pet... You must eat!" He implored, placing a surprisingly gentle hand on her shoulder. "You must keep your strength up for the games or your family will shortly be watching you starve to death!"

Without warning the distraught face of her little cousin popped into view, and that was all it took to completely obliterate the fragile walls of her newly constructed composure.

" I'll be lucky if I live passed the bloodbath!" She exclaimed, treacherous tears once again cutting trails down her cheeks. "How can I possibly survive after throwing a knife at my mentor?"

"By not missing in the arena!" Lucious supplied, amethyst eyes gleaming. "If that pigheaded Bull of a Victor was smart, she would've already realize that your more than you appear!"

Cursing, Thera wiped at her streaming eyes and glared

" what exactly is that supposed to mean?" she questioned through gritted teeth, finding it very difficult not to reach out and slap the aggravating Capitalite upside the head.

"I'm honestly not sure win, where, or how!" Lucious continued, pointing a finger at her nose. "But you've been trained!"

Feeling her blood run cold, Thera tried to speak, yet Lucious Cut her off before she could even think of getting a word in edgewise.

"You don't stand like most tributes do when on stage, either stiff as a board, or shaky and terrified. Without even thinking about it your body was already prepared for a fight... your even doing the same thing now!"

With a start, Thera realized she had subconsciously shifted into the defensive stance she had been taught by her father, fists at the ready, knees bent, and feed further apart than usual.

"Also most tributes I've met from district 9 aren't quite so proficient at throwing knives!"

“I think you must be imagining things!"Thera bluffed, Rolling her eyes in a false show of disbelief.

"No my dear I don't think I am!" Lucious contradicted, before aiming a swift punch at her midsection.

Instinctively Thera dodged, twisting her body sideways in order to mostly avoid The blow. Lucius's Second punch came just as quickly however, and there was no time for evasion. Instead Thera slapped The Capitalite's  attack out-of-the-way with her open palm, before stepping forward and kneeing him in the groin. Lucius did not go down is she had expected though, simply grunting in discomfort and staggering back.

“What the hell are you?“ Thera questioned astonished. “And how in the 12 districts of Panem are you still standing?“

Immediately Lucius started laughing once again, carefully straightening out his wig which had gotten rather crooked.

“It’s a little thing called protection my dear!“ He chortled, making a vague hand gesture alluding toward The area between his legs. “ I like to keep my family jewels out of the line of fire when at all possible!“

Softly Thera also began to chuckle, surprising herself. 

“You are strange!“ she murmured, placing both hands over her mouth in a fruitless attempt to stifle her giggles.

“Says the grain cutter tribute well versed in mortal combat!“ Lucious replied, instantly reminding Thera of her dyer predicament

“so I know how to fight!” She snapped, all traces of levity gone in an instant . “But I don’t know anything about how to make people like me? I'm not funny, intimidating, vicious, sexy, innocent, or anything really memorable... I mean how many years in a row has district 9's tributes been dressed up as stocks of..."

"Slow down love!" Lucius soothed, gently placing a hand over her mouth. "you concentrate on surviving passed the first day, and just leave everything else to me!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha ha ha ha and the plot thickens! Can anyone guess who Thera’s father is? Or more precisely what he is? Anyway I hope you enjoy and constructive criticism as welcome


	3. Capital punishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In whichThera is tortured at the hands of an overzealous prep team and stylist, the art of eating with chopsticks is demonstrated with enthusiasm, and Japanese food makes an appearance.

With a Sharp exclamation of "aah!" Thera allowed her body to Tip forward into the flashing light of countless cameras, tumbling from the train in what appeared to be a spectacularly bumbling nose dive.

"This is perfect!" she thought amused, Rolling herself head over heels in order to better absorb The impact with the merciless pavement. " i'm gonna look like the biggest idiot in the history of the games!"

Grinning like a Fool Thera simply lay sprawled out on the platform, listening to  the crowds startled laughter and giving herself a silent pat on the back.

"Good heavens my dear!" Came Lucius's overdramatic exclamation. "Are you hurt?"

Shaking her head in the negative,Thera pushed herself into an upright position, silently applauding the Capitolite's flawless acting skills. He was of course, the mastermind behind the entire stunt after all.

Without warning her self satisfied contemplations were interrupted by the sight of a hand entering her field of vision.  It Hubbard trembling in front of her face for what seemed an eternity, before she finally looked up to see none other than Donovan peering down at her

"Nice move slick!" He murmured, lips curbing into a small approximation of his usual smirk. "Need a hand?"

Thera hesitated for only a moment, afterwords making up her mind and smacking his hand gently away.

"Keep on dreaming puffball!" She replied, getting to her feet without assistance and following him from the train station.

To any watching bystander their interaction would've seemed volatile, an offer of alliance rebuked in the most public way possible. In reality however, Thera knew just the opposite was true. There relationship revolved around gentle jabs of antagonism and a general level of posturing designed to one up the other in shear, stubborn hard-assery. Some would call it flirting, but she knew for a fact that Donovan's type most definitely did not possess a uterus. His actions gave her enough piece of mind to know that she would be safe from one tribute at least.

Several hours later, Thera found herself wondering if this was what it was like to be put through a week thresher. It was strange to have limbs that were completely hairless, perfectly shaped nails, and hair that smelled like some strange combination of flowers.

"And I thought Lucious was funny looking! " She murmured, grateful for the few blessed moments of privacy afforded by her jabbering prep teams departure. "I wonder what my stylist will be like?"

As if summoned by her words, the door to the room opened to admit a man with Duski blue skin and Long golden hair twisted into an intricate braid down his back. 

" you are miss Millet?" he questioned, intense Brown eyes appearing surprisingly normal. " My name is Romer, and I'm going to be your stylist!"

"I gathered as much!" Thera exclaimed, trying desperately to ignore the fact that she was completely naked, and her stylist was undoubtably a man. "Now what ridiculous outfit are you planning to subject me to?"

"Well I'm certainly not telling!" Roma laughed, moving closer. "At least not until I have some idea of what I'm working with!"

Instinctively Thera stepped back, hands flying up to Cover her breasts. The overwhelming feeling of self consciousness was new to her, after all living in a House with two rooms was not conducive to privacy. She had never cared it home, but this City with all its wild fashion and  luxury was not home.

"Well well !" Roma chuckled, gently grabbing her wrists and guiding her arms out to the side. "Looks like I've got a modest won this year!"

Immediately Thera Feld her temper flair, crawling its way free from the stress weakened Cage she had shoved it in that morning.

"oh I'm sorry!"she snapped , pulling forcefully from his grasp and rearranging her expression into the most intimidating she could muster. " so far today I've been poked, prodded, scrubbed, scraped, and systematically dehaired. I am thoroughly sick of you people treating me like I'm some barbaric idiot!"

Appearing rather startled, Roma hurried over to One of the rooms myriad of cabinets, pulling out what appeared to be a bundle of white cloth.

"Catch!" He instructed, before tossing it high.

In a singular, fluid movement, Thera sprung forward and caught the bundle, unraveling it to reveal a robe.

"I like you Spitfire!" Roma exclaimed, trotting over and patting her shoulder. "now put that on and let's talk!"

Feeling incredibly relieved and trying not to show it, Thera quickly slipped on the robe. She then proceeded to follow Roma's swishing braid into a separate room.

"You must be famished after all this excitement!" He exclaimed, sprawling out on one of the parallel sofas and haphazardly kicking the side of the table.

Without a sound, Two large plates Rose up from seemingly out of nowhere, both intriguing and disgusting Thera simultaneously.

"Here we have hibachi steak and sautéed mushrooms with a side of Fried rice, zucchini, and onions!" Roma narrated animatedly, indicating each item with a flourish of a strange pair of sticks in his grasp. "And for desert... a strawberry cheesecake parfait!"

Surreptitiously Thera glanced over the place setting in search of utensils, only to discover nothing but an identical pair of sticks.

"Am I supposed to eat with these?" she asked her self silently, picking up the sticks and staring at them in complete bewilderment. "I wonder how scandalized he would be if I just use my hands?"

The sound of a throat clearing served to snap Thera out of her confused contemplation. Roma was looking at her with a teasing smirk curling his lips.

"You've never eaten with chopsticks before, have you?"

without giving her time to answer, Roma rolled to his feet and snatched up her hand. With an embarrassingly high-pitched squeak of surprise, Thera tried to pull away, but his grip was deceptively strong.

"No need to be so jumpy!" He scolded gently, maneuvering her hand in tandem with the chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat. " now open your mouth!"

"Not on your life!" Thera thought furiously, sending her Best death glare in the stylists direction. " i'm 18!not 4!" 

"Fine! Be unreasonable!" Roma Grumbled, bringing his other hand forward and snatching up her glass of ice water. "Please don't make me use this my dear!"

Without thinking Thera opened her mouth to reply, and a grinning Roma dropped the piece of meat directly onto her tongue.

"Now that that's settled!" Roma chimed, returning swiftly to his own seat. "I believe it's time we got down to business!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For starters I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to update this. The last couple weeks of the semester were insane with exams and the never ending fight with the class that is the bane of my scholastic existence, a.k.a. organic chemistry one. Also cataract surgery over winter break is not conducive to a lot of writing, but I’m for the most part recovered now and happily taking no more chemistry classes for a while . As always I hope you enjoy reading and I’ll try to update sooner next time. Constructive criticism is always welcome 
> 
> Sage
> 
> PS writing this made me hungry

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly the hunger games is one of my favorite book trilogies of all times, so I thought it would be fun to try my hand at writing some fanfiction for it . Constructive criticism is welcome , especially since I’m rather new to the area of writing fanfiction instead of just reading. . Please let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy


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